Sonntag, 12. November 2017

Refugee Accommodation and Solidarity Space City Plaza hat Hunger Strike:
"Reunite us with our families now"
The 7 women and 7 men are on their twelfth day of hunger strike on
Syntagma, demanding that which should be obvious. Their demands for
reunification with their families in Germany have been accepted by the
Greek and German authorities. Yet while the law requires that
reunification take place within six months of the reunification
application being accepted, this limit has been exceeds, due to the
clandestine deal between Greece and Germany - it is therefore unknown
when refugees will travel.
The authorities of both countries continue the mockery.
• The German government continues to break the law with a view to
restricting the rights of refugees. Due to the pressure created by the
hunger strike, German officials were forced to clarify their position on
family reunification, but these clarifications contradict the truth,
demonstrating an absolute lack of respect for the people putting their
bodies on the line to demand the obvious, and for the hundreds of others
waiting to meet their loved ones.
• The excuses of the German side were that bureaucratic and
administrative issues, mainly on the Greek side, delay the process, as
do tourist seasons and related limited ticket availability. They dodge
the question of whether the German side accepts that charter flights are
needed, as is the case with relocation programs.
• Moreover, on Wednesday 8 November, the German embassy in Greece
forbade women hunger strikers from taking part in the meeting scheduled
for that day, thereby reproducing obscurantist, sexist, and racist
behaviors. They have as yet provided no reason for this insulting and
offensive demand.
• The Greek side, which met with representatives of the hunger strikers,
confines itself to hackneyed promises, which are insensitive to the risk
the hunger strikers’ health is at.
• The Greek side appeared willing to book charter flights only after the
hunger strike began, but confined itself to a general wish only. 5e
question is, why don’t they book the flights straight away? Might this
be because of the framework imposed by the inhuman illegal deal with the
German government?
• The Ministry for Migration Policy, in a show of irrelevance and
mockery, stew that “it is clear that applicants can pay for the trip
with their own means, in order to speed up the reunification process”,
creating misleading impressions. Refugees accepted into the family
reunification program cannot travel within six months, because they are
being given neither a permit nor relevant travel documents by the Greek
authorities, so they are unable to even buy tickets. When, after months
of delays, the Greek Asylum Service does allow them to travel, 5e only
choice they have is to buy flexible tickets from only one travel agency,
at specific prices, currently between 200 and 300 euros per ticket.It is
audacious, to say the least, that the ministry dr sees up this situation
as a concession or facilitation to refugees since Greece, as required by
the European Regulation, must cover travel costs. There are dozens of
refugees whose travel documents have been issued, but who could not pay
for their tickets, and who lost their turn, and have had to join the
queue once more until they are called at a later date.
• Why didn’t the Greek government carry out an international competition
for covering the travel costs for refugees earlier? No matter how many
excuses they put forward, it is clear that the high cost of tickets is
part of the plan to restrict refugee movement. It is clear that the
restrictions on reunification and the other serious issues faced by
refugees remain unsolved not due to administrative, but due to political
reasons.
In other word, the Greek government is backing the German government,
within the framework of the anti-refugee policies of the European Union,
using administrative decisions signaling inhuman deterrence to future
refugees. It thereby circumvents the Geneva Convention, by pushing
refugees back to “safe third countries”, without examining asylum
requests, and by imprisoning them in terrible refugee camps.
As far as we are concerned, we will remain on the side of the hunger
strikers til the end. We will continue to fight on their side until the
inhuman policy towards refugee families stops, until deportations stop,
until detention centers, wretched camps, and hotspots close, before any
more deaths, until the abolition of the EU-Turkey deal of shame.
Syntagma Square, Athens 12 November 2017

Freitag, 8. September 2017

On Tuesday 18th of Julythe Police attacked fiercely and without cause, on site at the hellish detention center of Moria on Lesvos island and arrested refugees and migrants of primarily African nationalities who were in the middle of a peaceful protest about the lengthy delays of approval regarding assylum applications they had submitted. They were also protesting about the horrible living conditions at the detention center of Moria. Right after the violent episodes that were actually caused by the Police and after the violent suppression of the protest gathering, the police proceeded with actions ofsweeping arrests, during which members of the African community were vindictively percecuted and the 35 were detained.

The policemen were mercilessly hitting whoever stood in their way which resulted in serious injuries for the majority of the refugees. The beatings and the torture continued even after the arrests of the 35, which were acted out randomly and without any evidence backing the charges. Sole criterion was the color of the skin of the accused as it was obvious that they were African migrants. The charges were identical for each and every case. In the following days, 30 of the accused had a change to make their statements and were rendered into custody and subsequently transfered to prisons on Chios island and Athens accordingly. As testified by the lawyers on their case, the living conditions in those prisons are horrendous. There is dire need for clothes, food and hygiene items for all prisoners.

During the attack of the Police against the Refugees inside the hellish detention center of Moria, far right individuals acted in support and shadowing the Deep State of the after civil war State. The government of Syriza-Anel has full responsibility for the orgy of police violence and the seemless collaboration of Police and the State within State of the Far Right elements.

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As the LESVOS COORDINATION MOVEMENT OF

ACTIONS SUPPORTING REFUGEES & MIGRANTS

We stand in solidarity and support to all 35 prisoners and we demand their release.

The government is sending clear messages to all parties involved that it will apply without any deviation all the clauses agreed upon using any means to achieve this, dealing with direct violence towards refugees, as well as, towards all in solidarity to them and citizens alike, standing in its way.

These facts prove what is really included and implemented by the EU-Turkey deal.

We directly accuse and hold the government responsible for the murderous police tactics. We call upon all workers, the Greek people and the youth in particular to stand in solidarity with every means possible to all 35 refugees, to guard their decocratic rights and freedoms in our country. We make it clear in every way and tone of voice that we are side by side with all refugees and migrants alike and we shall continue to stive against the deterioration of the living conditions for us all.

United actions of locals and refugees/migrants!

Demand Assignment of cultural mediators to the 4 refugees that haven't had the chance to make their statements.

Immediate release of all prisoners.

Down with the murderous treatment of all refugees by the EU and the government

Protection-Asylum-Rights to all refugees

Freedom of Movement to all country destinations of the refugees' choice-disentanglement of refugees from the greek islands

Stop deportations

We shall support all actions that will be decided upon in the coming months in regard to the 35 migrants!

This call to action is open to be ratified by your support, we call upon all Associations, Legal entities and Organizations, as well as Organized Movements to sign this petition.

Donnerstag, 27. Juli 2017

One month of hunger strike. One month, where our mouths and lips have been shut and have refused any kind of food. Why? You probably think that those two people in Moria prison are crazy. You proably think that they are committing suicide. You probably think that they have an important message to deliver. You probably wonder why they are screaming and trying to show their pain and the blood from their wounds. You probably wonder how it is possible to stay alive without food for an entire month. You probably don´t understand any of this because your fixed mindset does not have the capacity to understand their pain and struggling.Bahrooz and Kozhin do not want to commit suicide. They are not crazy. They are two young kurdish men. They are smart and handsome. They are in love with life. They understand and appreciate the essence of beauty and the joy of life. This is the very reason why they do not kneel and submit to oppression and injustice. They desire life. This is the final hurdle of their struggle for that life. Their very hunger is the key that will open the gates of the prison. A prison in which they have been forced into.30 days have passed. I do not approve of the response from this superficial and false UN so far. The Greek police and the Greek state insist on upholding their reputation as being brutal and merciless towards vulnerable and suffering refugees. 30 days have passed. It has been 30 days of desperate calls from two desperate young men. Two desperate young men have been begging the people, the media channels, the human rights organisations, and everyone else for help.

Are you all deaf or are you just pretending to be?

Once again I went to Moria today to give sugar and salt to the refugees on hunger strike. Once again, despite my institence, the police prevented me from doing so. One month of hunger strike. They need sugar, salt, and juice. Their lives are in danger. The Police in Moria told me that I was only permitted to give them cigarettes. The Police did not even allow me to see them from a distance. That wonderful doctor and I were sent home utterly disappointed. That lovely doctor who tends to us every day, whenever necessary.It is nearly impossible to find someone with a strong conscience in this so-called civilised country. Someone who would go to the gate of Moria and dedicate two hours of their time fighting for the freedom of those two young men who have come here to seek refuge? If these people actually exist then I urge them to go to Moria and show that they disagree with the Greek asylum policies. I urge them to show that they are against the imprisonment of refugees. I urge them to call for the release of the imprisoned people on hunger strike. I urge them to do this because the hope these people have for their release is ultimately waning.